A Quality Rebel reflection on variation, stories, and the discipline of understanding systems. We hear a lot these days about hallucinations from AI large language models. The warning is familiar: don’t blindly trust what the machine tells you. AI sometimes produces answers that sound convincing but are completely fabricated.
Happy New Year. I wish you health, curiosity, and just enough discomfort in 2026 to keep learning. After a properly restorative festive break, I’m rebooting my blog—nudged, once again, by highlights resurfacing through Readwise. If you rely on an e-reader and pipe highlights into a PKM system like
We hear it all the time: “Change is hard.” It’s almost a reflex now — the moment the word “change” enters the room, resistance follows it in like an unwelcome shadow. I’ll be honest: I don’t leap out of bed each morning eager to reinvent my world. I
Today’s Readwise highlight covers so much. Without doubt, Respect for Individuals is at the forefront. Simultaneously, there’s appreciation for a system. Even Theory of Knowledge, Psychology and Understanding Variation to give us a full house of Dr Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge. It reminds me of a
In 2024, I challenged myself to write what are termed 'Atomic Essays' through a fantastic online course ('Ship 30 for 30'). Some of my earlier 'attempted' 'Atomic Essays' were inspired mainly by three things: * The book 'Win-Win: W. Edwards Deming, the
This is the final part of the introduction to Dr. Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge (SOPK), considering the fourth, interconnected aspect of psychology, usually as it relates to change. All systems involve humans, and we are psychological beings. As such, psychology interacts with all three other aspects of SOPK
Today, let’s maintain our analytical approach and look at another aspect of Deming’s System of Profound Knowledge (SOPK), theory of knowledge, very apt when considering teaching. Scientific thinking would be another way of considering theory of knowledge. What do we mean by this? When we have an idea
In Part 1, I introduced Deming's System of Profound Knowledge (SOPK), specifically the aspect of appreciating the system as applied in a teaching context. Today, understanding variation. I am not a teacher, at least in the traditional sense. I do teach as part of my leadership role. I
Dr. W. Edwards Deming spent many years developing his thinking, ultimately compiling it under the moniker of the System of Profound Knowledge (SOPK). The four elements comprising his SOPK are: * Appreciation for a system * Understanding variation * Theory of Knowledge * Psychology of change Deming’s SOPK can be applied to many
In healthcare we obsess over what went wrong — and rightly so. Harm matters. Lives matter. But somewhere along the way, we’ve developed a blind spot: we forget how much we learn from the things that go right. We dissect failure under a microscope while success quietly walks past, unnoticed.
“A manager understands and conveys to his people the meaning of a system. He explains the aims of the system. He teaches his people to understand how the work of the group supports these aims.” W. Edwards Deming, The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education, and Health Care. We’ve
OK, so tenuous music link in today’s title. Perhaps there is a link. Zumba, does it involve rhythm? Make Gemba part of a rhythm It is important Gemba is part of a rhythm or cadence of leadership. We often talk about Gemba (Genchi Genbutsu; actual place, actual thing), going